Giving Thanks

I know Thanksgiving was last week BUT we are to always give thanks in ALL circumstances.  This is not always easy to do but after working Thanksgiving day and having 2 family Thanksgiving gatherings I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

So better late than never--right!

I am very thankful for my family & friends!!  Well that wasn't to hard now was it. 

OK, to make it a bit more challenging and to make you and I think more on what we are thankful for I received an email from Tommy Newberry the writer of The 4:8 Principle I have mentioned before on this very thing.  You can get to it by this link http://www.tommynewberry.com/index.php/blog.  Read about Genuine Gratitude or just go towards the end and click on the link to the GRATITUDE GAME.  There are 12 questions to make you think about what you are thankful for.  For me some were very easy and others were a bit more difficult. 

Even when life is tough there is always something to be thankful for.  I recently had a devotion that was saying we are to be thankful in ALL cirumstances--that means good and bad.  WOW that is not easy, at least not for me.  I mean I can find things to be thankful for but to be thankful for what I am going through--Not easy and honestly I am not good at that.  I can look back and see how God really worked on me during those tough times and then be thankful for the "fire" I was under but not good at is during the "fire".

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

That doesn't mean that all things will be good.  It means that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him--big difference.

It would be nice if we all had easy sailing through this life but we don't.  We are put through the fire for a reason and that is to refine us to be more like Jesus.

"I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.  They will call on My name, and I will answer them.  I will say: They are My people, and they will say: The LORD is our God." Zechariah 13:9

I am sure many have had this email (poem) come around but I thought I would share it here:

Malachi 3:3

“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver…”


This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:
“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver…”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.


The man answered that yes,


He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.


The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'


He smiled at her and answered,


'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'


If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Well, I am not sure how I got from Thankfulness to this but somehow I did.  Maybe because I feel I have been in that "fire" lately and it is very reassuring that God has his eye on me at ALL times to make sure I am not destroyed (even though sometimes it feels like I will be).  He is there to refine me and make me more like Jesus--for this I am VERY THANKFUL!!

So today just take a moment and think about what you are thankful for right now.  I would also challenge you to start your mornings with a few things you are thankful for before you even get out of bed.  Then at night as you go to bed before you fall asleep list off a few things you are thankful for.  Before long you will feel more graditude for the things in life.  That is a good feeling.

God Bless!!

Finding God's Will

Once again I am over-thinking my life and what I am suppose to do.  One would think at my age I would know but NOPE.  I do know I want to be walking in God's will and that brings me to where I am at now in my thinking (or over-thinking). 

What is God's will for my life?  Something I ask myself a lot BUT I am not the one I should be asking.  I do ask God what He wants me to do but I tend to get impatient and do things the way I think they should be done. 

So I have been working to figure out what God's will is for my life.  One thing I know is that He wants me to take ONE DAY AT A TIME!!  I am working on that one.

Part of this has to do with my job.  Since starting my job I have been stressed and that led to a depression which has made life difficult for me and my family (mostly my husband since the kids are older but I am sure it has affected them also).  I was trying to figure out if I did the "wrong" thing in taking this job.  Why was I feeling this way.  Why was I not content.  What was wrong with me.

So here are some things I HAVE figured out and learned about myself and about God's will in my life.

First, I know that God does NOT hide His will from us as long as we are seeking Him and wanting to live a life pleasing to him.  If we are walking daily with God and seeking Him then we are living His will for us. 

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."  Romans 12:1-2

Second, there really is no "wrong" in taking the job.  I did and do feel like God blessed me with the job so that is one reason I was so frustrated with how things have turned out BUT then I started thinking back to when I went on the interview and how I said that I would take the job if offered because I would NOT make that mistake again.  Meaning that I was offered a job in the summer of 2009 and turned it down because I did not feel a peace about it.  This time I felt at peace either way.  I was in a good place and was happy if I was offered the job and would be happy if I was not.  So Yes, I believe He blessed me with the job.  I also believe I took a few things into my own hands and that is what added the stress and struggles along the way.

"You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail." Proverbs 19:21

At this time I feel at a crossroads in my job.  I have cut back my hours but still have the cons outweighing the pros in keeping the job.  So for now I will stick with it and just keep praying God will direct me on what I should do.  Give the "less" hours a try before making a final decision.  Plus I know that whether I stay at the job or not there is no "wrong" answer there because God can and will use me as long as I am walking with Him.


Next, I learned that when walking in God's will we will have peace.  Not perfect happiness or lack of stress and struggles just peace knowing we are right where God wants us.

There were a few questions that came up in my search for knowing God's will:

"What are your deepest longings?"

"What are you passionate about?"

"What is the desire of your heart, what is your heart telling you?"

This is where it really hit me.  As I was really drawing closer to God last spring I knew that I was really feeling a desire to strengthen my marriage and work on being the wife that my husband needs.  This is something I have worked on all our marriage BUT raising kids and other life events have made this more difficult.  

Just a little background--we had kids VERY young and were married when we were just kids.  We have had to grow up together and have had so many ups and downs that I was looking forward to this time in our lives to just be a "couple" and grow in that.  Since doing things a bit "backwards" by having a couple kids before getting married we have never really had time to just be a couple.  We are young, early 40's, and ALL our kids are adults now.  It is time for US!!  With my husbands job being a bit crazy and at times overwhelming and stressful I feel it is my job and my desire to be his support and love him and be there for him instead of being in a job that is causing me stress.  We don't need both of us stressed out--not a good combination.

OK, so now I know where my passion and desire is--I WANT TO BE A HOUSEWIFE!!  It is what I have been for so long, that and being a stay at home mom.  Sometimes we think we want something but then when we get it we realize it is not really what we wanted but what we had is what we really wanted.  We just need to learn to be content with what we have and look at the positive and not let the negative make us discontent in a place we know we should be.

I love my husband with ALL my heart and I know I want to be his wife for the rest of my life.  I know I want to serve him.  My spiritual gifts are serving, mercy & encouragement and I thought it was time to take those gifts somewhere else.  I do believe God can and will continue to use my gifts as He sees the need outside my home but I do see that those gifts are there to also serve, show mercy & encourage my husband. 

 "A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown."

Proverbs 12:4a 

I have said over the last couple weeks "I just want my life back" but what did I mean by that...I want to be where I was last spring before I started my job.  I want to be growing daily in the Truth and not be who I have become (a tired grumpy woman) which I don't like.  So that is my plan and I do hope, pray and believe it is God's plan for me as well.